The Most Romantic Restaurants in NYC

We've chosen some of our favorite spots in New York for a special night out, whether you want the best Valentine's restaurant in NYC (and if you choose to eat out that night, godspeed) or just want to celebrate an anniversary/promotion/third date in style.

Tucked into the Flatiron district, Kat & Theo, led by executive chef David Fisher—a semi-finalist in the 2016 San Pellegrino Young Chefs competition–creates simple, produce-driven dishes like his lamb tongue pastrami with house-made stout mustard and house rye bread. With an exposed brick-lined front bar (and Eiffel Tower-esque metal trellis), open kitchen, and back dining room warmed by a romantic stone fireplace, this is one restaurant where sitting on the same side of the booth won't be met with eye rolls.

With decor for all stages of a relationship, Milk and Roses in Greenpoint is fit for both a cozy dinner to celebrate a double digit anniversary and a delightful first date. Head to the candle-lit bookshelf-lined indoor restaurant for a night of serious romance or try the fairy-light covered outdoor garden (which also serves as a wedding venue in warmer weather for a more casual—though no less charming—experience. Regardless of where you're seated, take advantage indulgent menu options like the chicken liver pate, served with mission figs, and the duck served with golden faro and dried red currant.

Marc Forgione’s Tribeca restaurant exudes romance: there are weathered brick walls, gilded mirrors, and pillar candles, which supply almost all of the light. Share the spicy lobster chili, served with Texas toast to soak up the broth, or the rich chicken under a brick (since it's a special occasion, splurge on the shaved black truffles for added decadence). The Halibut en Croute's sauce is nicknamed “proposal sauce," supposedly for the amount of times diners have asked Forgione to marry them after trying it.

This charming throwback Queens joint is perfect for a “just drinks” date that you hope turns into something more. Start in the dark wood-paneled bar where bow-tied bartenders serve up classic cocktails with a twist, like the Mar’s Manhattan made with black mission fig bitters. Then, head to the candlelit bistro tables, order oysters from the raw bar, and listen to the 1930s tunes playing from retro speakers.

This classic date spot moved to the Upper East Side in 2015 but managed to retain the charm of its original West Village location. Mark Mata, whom you may recognize from Chopped, now helms the kitchen. Try the braised short ribs and Brussels sprouts with crème fraiche, green apple, and pistachio—an updated version of the restaurant’s iconic dish–or the all-new ahi tuna on crispy rice with avocado, chili mayonnaise, and black sesame. At the marble bar in front, they’re making neo-classic cocktails, including a Mezcal old fashioned and a dark aged-rum daiquiri.

It’s hard to believe that this cabin––complete with Adirondack chairs and firewood on the unfurnished porch—is just a block away from Brooklyn’s bustling Smith Street. Couples can thaw by the fireplace or near the tiny open kitchen, and warm up further with one of the restaurant's 30 wines, including ports and sherries by the glass. Pair those with the truffle Mac and cheese and the white bean crostini with baked ricotta, currently on the rotating menu.

Inside this elegant landmark building—it was once Aaron Burr’s carriage house—brick walls, gold chandeliers, huge bouquets of flowers, and plush seating set the scene for one the city's most popular spots for proposals. Tables near one of the restaurant's two fireplaces in the Constitution Room, or near the French windows that overlook the garden, are particularly popular with couples. Many of the cocktails nod to the restaurant’s historic past like Hamilton’s Way–scotch, Amaro, and ginger syrup. The prix fixe menu is filled with classic upper-crust favorites like beef Wellington, but if you’re offered a special extra course "designed just for you," you’ll likely be served a ring surrounded by rose petals served under a domed silver platter.

The romantic vibe begins before you even get inside this Brooklyn restaurant: The walkway leading to the front door is lit by lanterns and passes by the on-site greenhouse that keeps the restaurant brimming with fresh flowers. But to really impress your date, score a table by the windows—the restaurant offers breathtaking vistas of the Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. That view has been drawing diners for decades, but the prix fixe menu is no slouch either, focusing on New American dishes and ending with a miniature version of the Brooklyn Bridge rendered in chocolate.

First, find an unmarked door on a Williamsburg side street, where you're led through a dark, lantern-lit hallway lined with bamboo and pebbles. After being seated in mahogany booths encased in curtains, you'll be given menus and a small buzzer to summon the waiter. Ponder the menu of Japanese small plates over a subtle jazz soundtrack and hardly any hint that other diners are huddled in their own private booths throughout the three-story restaurant. The seasonal eight-course Omakase tasting menu is popular, as are the silky tofu dish and potato mochi cakes on the a la carte menu.

A stroll down Arthur Avenue, in the Bronx’s Little Italy, can feel like an impromptu trip to the boot, and the Zero Otto Nove dining room completes that fantasy. You’ll know you found the right place by the bright blue Fiat parked out front. Enter through a dark winding hallway that leads to a brighter dining room painted to look like an Italian marketplace. Share a pizza—perhaps La Riccard, topped with butternut squash puree, smoked mozzarella, spicy pancetta, and basil—from the huge pizza oven in the center of the dining room.

Photo by Evan Sung

Lilia

The Brooklyn views and the delicate pasta dishes might compete for your date’s attention here, but if you’re secure enough in your relationship, find a corner table close to one of Lilia’s sizable windows and order a round of Negronis. Chef Missy Robbins, who perfected pasta at Spiaggia in Chicago and A Voce in Manhattan before going out on her own, suggests her signature Mafaldini pasta with pink peppercorns and Parmigiano Reggiano followed by the lamb steak for date night.

Photo by Evan Sung

Minton's

Jazz greats Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie played here during the Harlem Renaissance, and when Minton’s reopened in 2013 some said the neighborhood’s rebirth was complete. Linger all night at one of the plush, intimate tables; there's no bad seat in the house, each has a view of the stage. Pair the Jumping Bebop–a spiced rum, peach, pineapple, basil, and lime concoction–with one of chef J.J. Johnson’s African-influenced dishes. The short rib toast with spicy pickled okra and yogurt and the Afro-Asian-American Gumbo with smoked chicken, Chinese chicken sausage, shrimp, and crab are standouts.